Veteran New York DJ Danny Tenaglia will team up with Canadian techno legend Tiga to help Ottawa’s Escapade Music Festival celebrate its 10th anniversary this summer. The electronic dance music festival takes place June 22 and 23 at Lansdowne Park.

The two seasoned DJs, who will perform separate sets and one together, are the final acts to be announced in a lineup that already includes headliners DJ Snake and Holland’s Martin Garrix, along with Canadians Adventure Club, Zeds Dead, Keys and Krates, Loud Luxury and dozens of others from North America and beyond.

For Paris-based Snake, whose real name is William Sami Étienne Grigahcine, it will be his first appearance in Ottawa. The Grammy-nominated producer/artist is one of the world’s most popular crossover DJs, having hit the billion mark on Spotify with more than one song. His latest massive hit, Taki Taki, features Cardi B and Selena Gomez.

Garrix is another DJ with commercial appeal, ranked by DJ Mag as No. 1 on the list of the world’s top 100 DJs for three consecutive years. He first played Escapade in 2016.

Zeds Dead.

The only female act on the bill at this time is Ruslana Malytska, the Ottawa-based DJ/producer better known by her stage name Khaos.

Bolstered by a partnership with concert-promotion giant Live Nation, the festival returns to Lansdowne Park for the third year, with two outdoor stages on the grounds and a stage inside the Aberdeen Pavilion.

The historic building, also known as the Cattle Castle, will be transformed with lighting and special effects, said Ali Shafaee, who’s part of the festival’s organizing team.

“It was a huge hit last year,” Shafaee said. “The first year we didn’t put much emphasis on it in terms of production but this year we’ll be stepping up our game.”

Although Aberdeen is also notoriously challenging for live sound, organizers found curtains softened the reverb last year. According to Shafaee, the style of music makes a difference, too. “It’s not like rock or country because there are not as many vocals or live instruments so the sound isn’t as bad in there,” he said.

Martin Garrix performs onstage during day 4 of the Firefly Music Festival.Michael Loccisano /
Getty Images for Firefly Music Festival

Escapade began in 2010 as a Canada Day party in a ByWard Market parking lot. With Deadmau5 headlining, it attracted an estimated 2,000 people. In subsequent years, it was also held at the Ottawa Baseball Stadium, the RA Centre and Rideau Carleton Raceway before moving to Lansdowne Park in 2017.

Noise complaints and overdoses have been the biggest problems in recent years, although Shafaee said organizers work with the community and authorities to mitigate both.

“We’ve had noise complaints but we haven’t broken any bylaws or anything like that,” he said. “We’re a large event in an urban, residential neighbourhood. We have a sound system that allows us to control as much of the sound as we can, and we try to work with the community as best as we can.”

They also work with police and paramedics to ensure the safety of festivalgoers. More than 100 naloxone-equipped security personnel are on site, as well as first-aid trained Canadian Ski Patrol volunteers. An amnesty bin at the front gate allows patrons to dispose of street drugs, no questions asked.

The two-day Heineken Escapade 2017 electronic music festival has taken over Lansdowne Park.Ashley Fraser /
Postmedia

“There’s no other festival in the region that does half the things we do,” Shafaee said. “We do whatever we can to make sure the audience is partying safely.”

This year’s event is expected to attract 30,000 people, most representing the 19-29-year-old demographic. Weekend passes are already sold out, and single-day passes are on track to sell out in the next six to eight weeks. If they go as quickly as anticipated, it will be the first time the festival has sold out in advance.

Shafaee said statistics show that up to 40 per cent of festivalgoers visit Ottawa from out of town, and the event generates an economic impact estimated at $3.1 million. Most visitors come from the Montreal and Toronto areas, plus a significant number from northern Ontario and a growing number from the United States.

Escapade Music Festival took over Lansdowne Park for a mostly young crowd of energetic EDM enthusiasts in Ottawa on Saturday, June 23, 2018.David Kawai /
Postmedia

The key to the festival’s popularity is the experience, Shafaee said.

“We’re a unique festival musically,” he said. “We’re the biggest small festival you can go to. We’re not trying to be a Bluesfest or a Lollapalooza. We’re a small local festival that has a large feel and experience to it. That’s what people say they love about us.”

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